hvyj
2569 posts
Nov 01, 2014
11:11 AM
|
Had an interesting experience last night. Sat in with a band that has an electric viola player. (I had filled in for him a few weeks ago when he was sick. I play duo gigs with the band leader, so I knew his material and played harp.)
Anyway, last night I used a low F harp on a tune in Am and to my surprise it put me in precisely the same register as the viola, which sounded cool. We started trading licks and it was fun to see how close I could get to mimicking the timbre of the viola. I'm not particularly enthusiastic about low tuned harmonicas in general, but this was a lot of fun.
Last Edited by hvyj on Nov 01, 2014 11:18 AM
|
harmonicanick
2186 posts
Nov 01, 2014
12:52 PM
|
yeah I use low F quite a lot to sit back from the tune
I have a Seydel super low F which is impossible to plat with others because it is so quiet. Great for imitating ship fog horns though
Normal F is pretty damn shrill
|
Pistolcat
736 posts
Nov 01, 2014
2:30 PM
|
Yeah, the harp can get fairly close to mimicking bow instruments, especially the low keyed harmonicas. The low end draw notes can be slightly "rushed" which, quite effectively, gives an "bow illusion". Maybe a low F come close to a viola. I have a. Low low F that I sometimes feel sound like a cello.
Here is a video were I have retuned it to a kind-of "easy-third" tuning. There is a extreme reverb effect added but otherwise un-effected.
----------
Pistolkatt - Pistolkatts youtube
Last Edited by Pistolcat on Nov 01, 2014 3:17 PM
|
SuperBee
2252 posts
Nov 01, 2014
2:58 PM
|
im unskilled at playing anything lower than lo F. i have no idea how anyone can play LLF. Lo Eb i can get the 1 Draw to E...just. it does seem to develop with practice though...i just dont see the value in the practice right now
i use a Lo F, for playing Dont Get Around Much Anymore. i retuned it to so-called 'country tuned' specifically for soloing in that song...a regular F is really not ideal in that application. i do like a regular F though. no way can i play a Lo F fast enough for most of the uptempo stuff i normally use that key for
|
Pistolcat
737 posts
Nov 01, 2014
3:44 PM
|
SuperBee - Let's put it this way. I wouldn't play Messin with the kid on the LLF even though it's in C ;) . You really have to pick the tunes to fit it in my opinion. That said: I mentioned the retune right? I can bend the four draw on my LLF. Nothing below that. The reutune I made is very nice for third though. Gives me a Gm draw chord in the low end and fourhole split octaves on blow 1-4, 2-5, 3-6, 4-7 as well as draw 1-2, 2-5!, 3-6!. You can hear some to the end of the video above...
hvyj - As I stated, I find the bow instrument sound in the draw notes and third position, especially in this re-tune, brings that out. My dabble with fifth as well as first position give me a very brass like feel, especially in the first octave. I find myself blowing a lot in fifth, hitting that blow 3 a lot more instead of draw 2. I'm just starting out in those positions, though.
Here is Mikael Fall in fifth (and third) position. (And chromatica and bass harmonica, too)
And here is Dennis G showing you what to do with a low harp in an amped, blues context!
----------
Pistolkatt - Pistolkatts youtube
|
SuperBee
2254 posts
Nov 01, 2014
4:08 PM
|
i get it PistolCat. cheers...
someone has been piggybacking my wifi and theyve used it all up...watching video is a go slow event for me right now...im gonna recalibrate my network security before my new allocation of data...but until then...no video
country tuning does a cool thing with 5th... the 5 draw is usually an 'avoid' reed for 5th, but with a CT harp its just a handy 9th,
|
hvyj
2570 posts
Nov 01, 2014
4:34 PM
|
I bought 3 Thunderbirds (Low Eb, D & C) to use for practice because practicing on low harps really helps develop technique. But for performance (gigs and jams) I only carry low F and low F#.
I like regular F just fine, but I think low F# sounds and plays better than regular F#. I use low F for playing those Am tunes on which a lower darker tone better fits the mood of the song. I also use lo F on tunes like MY GIRL that modulate from D to C because changing from a G harp to a regular F in the same song is too dramatic of a shift in timbre. Other than that, I pretty much leave the lo F alone.
Last Edited by hvyj on Nov 01, 2014 4:47 PM
|
BronzeWailer
1504 posts
Nov 01, 2014
4:47 PM
|
I love the way the reeds on the low harps keep vibrating for a long time. Is that a function of their length/frequency I wonder?
BronzeWailer's YouTube
|
nacoran
8084 posts
Nov 02, 2014
9:44 AM
|
Bronze, I suspect it's the weight on the end. Objects in motion tend to stay in motion. What stops a reed normally would be, the resistance of the metal and air friction. If you have a heavier reed tip, it would take longer for them to slow the mass down.
What I love is you can still shape the sound. I love doing kiss pops and then blowing back into the harp with just my cheeks (like you would with circular breathing). You can change the draw reed sound with a blow
----------
Nate
Facebook
Thread Organizer (A list of all sorts of useful threads)
First Post- May 8, 2009
|
hvyj
2571 posts
Nov 02, 2014
10:02 AM
|
@harpdude: Thanks. Keep gigging!!!
|
